Picking up where I left off. This blog is best read from earliest date to current...Over the years this family of Abraham (not in picture, I just thought the picture was unique) who is called to be blessed to bless becomes a covenant community. This covenant is further developed in the rest of the Books of the Old Testament or Hebrew Scriptures.
What we find in the story is that this covenant community goes through periods of whole heartedly following after God, waning, rebelling and then returning to God's way; and then, once again repeating the cycle.
God's action through out this repeating cycle is to inspire individuals to want people to live God's way. Hence an ongoing conversation develops.
Four types of people enter into the conversation deliberately striving to help people know God and live according to His way.
- Priests were the first to develop at the founding of God's people on Mt. Horeb where God handed down the ten commandments to Moses. Priests were set up to lead God's people in reconciliation before God and one another. The sacrificial system is designed to demonstrate the importance and value of being "right" in relationship with God and others. Priest were people who helped the conversation between God and people.
- Prophets were non-clergy who passionately proclaimed and lived God's way before the people. They were voices that brought people to realize their need to repent and be people of integrity before God and one another.
- Poets, like King David, helped people to understand who God is through poetry. Poetry gave voice to many aspects of human life from love to worship, to lamentation to praise.
- Philosophers used practical, everyday observation to proclaim the wonders of God and how humankind should relate with God and one another.
I guess the truth or point of this is that God still continues the conversation. How he calls people and inspires them I do not fully understand. However, that doesn't make it any less possible. We can look at history and see various people who have filled some of these roles; like, Mother Theresa, and Martin Luther King Jr.
Poets and song writers continue to write songs, movies, books that continue to challenge humanity. The interesting thing is that many of these are sometimes far outside the faith, but yet they call people towards appropriately relating to self and others. And often relating to self includes a spiritual aspect; a reliance or faith in something greater than oneself.
In other words, the conversation continues; God still inspires people to seek his kingdom and his justice.
